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Criminal Law

Sentencing Law and Policy Sentencing Law and Policy

News, issues, commentary and provides resources related to sentencing law and policy.
By Douglas A. Berman

Post Frequency: 77.7/day

Last Entry: April 01, 2011 at 10:54:24

Recent Entries: 4815

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Specifics and predictions concerns stay of Ohio's effort to re-execute Broom

Posted on September 19, 2009
This local article, headlined "Inmate's execution delayed for 10 days," provides more of the details and debate surrounding Ohio's efforts to try to execution again Romell Broom after its botched first attempt: A second attempt to execute condemned killer Romell...


Details on California's not-quite-complete prison population reduction plan

Posted on September 19, 2009
This Los Angeles Times article, headlined "Governor's prison plan seeks more time to reduce inmate population: Schwarzenegger's proposal is submitted to federal judges Friday evening, only hours before the deadline," reports on the latest prison reform doings in California...


Another prominent athlete presents another potential Second Amendment test case

Posted on September 19, 2009
Regular readers know that I was disappointed that Plaxico Buress did not assert a serious Second Amendment claim after being charged and prosecuted in New York with serious crimes based on his possession of a gun for personal self-defense (details...


"Inmate Will Testify About Failed Execution"

Posted on September 18, 2009
The title of this post is the headline of this article from the New York Times concerning one of the ways in which Ohio's botched execution attempt has created some interesting legal action in on-going lethal injection litigation. Here are...


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Judge Gerard Lynch becomes first lower-court Obama nominee confirmed by Senate

Posted on September 18, 2009
As detailed in this pieceavailable at law.com, the "Senate on Thursday confirmed Gerard Lynch for the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, giving overwhelming approval to the Southern District of New York judge who presided over cases involving former basketball...


Latest litigation update surrounding Ohio's unexecuted and re-execution plans

Posted on September 18, 2009
This AP article provide the latest, but certainly not the last, update on the litigation surrounding Ohio's botched execution attempt this past Tuesday and its plans to try again this Tuesday. Here are a few highlights: An attorney for an...


"Athlete's sentence: No prison, no sports"

Posted on September 18, 2009
The title of this post is the headline of this local Ohio article that a helpful reader sent my way. Here are the fascinating details: Applause turned to gasps in a Butler County courtroom Thursday as a judge announced an...


Unpublished Sixth Circuit ruling addresses departure/variance distinction

Posted on September 18, 2009
The Sixth Circuit released an interesting unpublished ruling in US v. Simpson, No. 08-5293 (6th Cir. Sept. 16, 2009) (available here), which finds procedurally unreasonable a district court sentencing determination that failed to properly distinguish its departure authority and its...


California's court-ordered plan for prison population reductions to come up short

Posted on September 18, 2009
As detailed in this Sacramento Bee article, which is headlined "Schwarzenegger's prisons plan will fall short of judges' order," California's Governor will be filing today a plan to address overcrowding in the state's prisons, but the specifics might not make...


Using GPS in California to keep sex offenders away from a county fair

Posted on September 17, 2009
This local article highlights an interesting use of GPS technocorrection as a means to keep California sex offenders away from a notable public region: Law enforcement officials will use global positioning system tracking technology to monitor sex offenders at the...


Will (and when and how will) SCOTUS have to weigh in on Ohio's desire to try execution again?

Posted on September 17, 2009
This new AP article, headlined "Lawyers try to stop second Ohio execution try," reports on the latest legal news concerning Ohio's plan to try again to execute Romell Broom. Here are highlights: Lawyers plan state and federal lawsuits and a...


Seeking input on the most under-appreciated part of the US Constitution

Posted on September 17, 2009
The BLT's Morning Wrapnotes that today is "Constitution Day." Here's its celebratory note: On this day in 1787, the Constitution was signed, and the anniversary is being marked by the National Archives, the Library of Congress, the Constitution Project, and...


Should President Obama be praised or assailed for his approach to judicial nominations so far?

Posted on September 17, 2009
Jeffrey Toobin has this really interesting article on President Obama's approach to judicial appointments in the New Yorker. Here are just a few notable snippets that ought to engage everyone: Just eight months into his first term, Obama already has....


Notable reactions in national and local papers in response to Ohio's "unexecuted"

Posted on September 17, 2009
Both the New York Times and the Columbus Dispatch have fascinating articles with lots of notable quotes concerning Ohio's difficulty on Tuesday trying to execute Romell Broom via lethal injection. First, this NYT article under the headline "Ohio Plans to...


"Theorizing Fines"

Posted on September 17, 2009
The title of this post is the title of this new piece I just noticed on SSRN from Professor Pat O'Malley of the University of Sydney. Here is the abstract: Given their central place as a sanction in criminal justice,...


Miami sex offender residency restriction upheld by state court

Posted on September 17, 2009
This Miami Herald story, headlined "Judge rules Miami-Dade sex-offender residency law is valid," reports on a new ruling in a high-profile case involving a local residency restriction in Florida. Here are the basics: The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida...


UK advocate saying botched Ohio execution should be US turning point on death penalty

Posted on September 16, 2009
I suspect that yesterday's botched execution attempt here in Ohio likely could become a big national and international story, and this new item from a UK paper confirms my suspicion. The piece is headlined "The American way of death:A botched...


The extra re-entry challenges for sex offenders after the Garrido case

Posted on September 16, 2009
The AP has this interesting new article headlined "California case casts harsh spotlight on sex offenders." Here is how it starts: After being locked away for 25 years for sex crimes, Donald Robinson moved to a little block of unassuming...


Texas CCA finds procedural bar to considering amor-afflicted death sentence

Posted on September 16, 2009
This AP article, which is headlined "No retrial for condemned man after judge-DA affair," reports on a notable ruling from the highest criminal court in Texas: A Texas death row inmate won't be able to argue for a new trial,...


Details on the botched Ohio execution, issue spotting, and seeking predictions

Posted on September 16, 2009
This story from the Cleveland Plain-Dealer has more details on Ohio's botched effort to execute Romell Broom yesterday and some reactions to it: For more than two hours, the team attempted to insert two shunts into a vein of the...


Data bleg on gender, crime, victims and punishment

Posted on September 16, 2009
For various reasons, I have been thinking a lot lately about the gender realities in crime and punishment, and I am starting a new scholarly project that call for citing some historical and modern data relating to gender, crime, victims...


"Why Did China Reform It?s Death Penalty?"

Posted on September 16, 2009
The title of this post is the title of this interesting new paper by Kandis Scott that I just discovered on SSRN. Here is the abstract: China recently reformed its death penalty procedures, and as a result the government has...


What can and should be done about prison staff sex abuse of prisoners?

Posted on September 16, 2009
A helpful reader pointed me to this notable column by in the Washington Post, which is headlined "Chilling Findings in Report on Prison Sex Abuse." Here is how it starts: Prisoners don't command much respect. Those who steal, rape and...


"The Disutility of Injustice"

Posted on September 16, 2009
The title of this post is the title of this interesting new article on SSRN by Paul Robinson, Geoffrey Goodwin, and Michael Reisig. (Hat tip: the new CrimProf.) Here is the avstract: The retributivists and the crime-control instrumentalists have seen...


GenRe executive reaps the sentencing benefits of white-collar cooperation

Posted on September 16, 2009
This Reuters article, which is headlined "Former General Re exec gets probation in AIG fraud," spotlights the sentencing benefits that often flow from being a white-collar cooperator. Here is how it starts: A former executive of reinsurer General Re Corp...


Ohio struggling, legally and practically, with effort to execute offender today

Posted on September 15, 2009
One would think that, with four executions completed in the last few months, Ohio would now have its modern system of state killing down to a science. However, as this new AP report details, the state is having a very...


The technical challenges posed by technocorrections

Posted on September 15, 2009
I just discovered this local article out of Florida last week, which is headlined "Judge: Hairspray falsely triggered alcohol-monitoring device." For fans of technocorrections, this story is a bit sobering: A 17-year-old girl?s alcohol-monitoring device was triggered by continued exposure...


One hundred pot arrests every hour, though blogger Andrew Sullivan gets a federal break

Posted on September 15, 2009
TalkLeft has these two posts providing effective coverage of two interesting "drug war" stories concerning marijuana crimes that have developed in recent days: New FBI Report: A Pot Arrest Every 37 Seconds in 2008 Judge Says Blogger Andrew Sullivan Got...


Editorial suggests why federal judges have had to be involved in California prison reform

Posted on September 15, 2009
The Sacramento Bee has this effective new editorial reviewing all the latest California prison reform happenings, which is headlined "Assembly invites judges to intervene." Here are excerpts: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has until Friday to submit a prison population reduction plan...


Blogger being prosecuted for threatening judges gets transfer and restricted bail

Posted on September 15, 2009
This new article from the National Law Journal, which is headlined "Blogger Charged With Threatening 7th Circuit Judges Gets Home Confinement," reports on the latest developments in a notable federal criminal case: U.S. District Judge Donald Walter has ordered the...


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